Invitation
May I hereby draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation wants to share with You the joy
of the Gospel. Everyone, no one except,
can experience that joy by opening their hearts
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day
OPENING WORD
The Lord welcomes us all on his day.
Even with all our littleness and brokenness
He warmly welcomes us.
After all, His love is so great
that He continues to love us even then.
That is exactly what forgiveness is!
Therefore, at the beginning of this celebration, let us pray to the Lord,
whose life was completely marked by this mercy,
confidently for mercy.
FIRST READING Sir. 27, 30-28.7
Forgive your neighbour his iniquity: Then, when you pray for it, your own sins will be remitted.
From the book of Wisdom of Jesus Sirach
Resentment and wrath are an abominable thing,
only a sinner keeps running with it.
Whoever takes revenge will feel the vengeance of the Lord:
The Lord will never lose sight of his sins.
Forgive thy neighbour his iniquity:
Then, when ye pray for it,
thy own sins shall be remitted.
Can a man,
who towards a fellow man persists in his wrath,
come to seek salvation with the Lord?
Can he, who is implacable towards his even-minded man,
pray for forgiveness for his own sins?
If one who is but a man himself,
persists in his resentment,
who will atone for his sins?
Think of the end and stop hating;
think of ruin and death
and keep the commandments.
Remember the commandments
and hold no grudge against your neighbour.
Remember the covenant of the Most High
and forgive your neighbour his error.
Answer Psalm Ps 103(102), 1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
Refrain
The Lord is merciful and benevolent,
longsuffering and kind.
Glorify, my soul, the Lord,
His holy Name from the depths of your being!
Glorify, my soul, the Lord!
forget not his benefits!
It is He who forgives you your debts,
Who heals thee from thy afflictions.
It is He who saves you from destruction,
Who surrounds you with his favour and mercy.
He does not constantly keep reproaching you,
He is not forever wroth.
He does not deal with us as we deserve,
does not repay us our guilt.
As wide as the heavens span the earth,
so all-encompassing is His mercy.
As far as the distance from east to west,
so He expels from us sin.
SECOND READING Rom. 14:7-9
Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
From the letter of the holy apostle Paul to the Christians of Rome
Brothers and sisters,
None of us lives for himself alone,
no one dies to himself alone.
As long as we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord:
Whether we live or die, to Him we belong.
For that Christ died and was made alive again:
To be Lord over the dead and living.
Verse for the Gospel John 13, 34
Alleluia.
A new commandment I give unto you, saith the Lord:
Ye must love one another, as I have loved you.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL Mt 18:21-35
Nay, I say to you, forgive not seven times but seventy times seven times.
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
At that time, Peter came to Jesus and spoke:
“Lord, if my brother transgresses against me,
how often must I forgive him?
“Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered him:
“Nay, I say to you, not until seven times
but unto seventy times seven times.
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven resembles a king
who wanted to give an account
to his servants.
“When he began this,
one was brought to him
who owed ten thousand talents.
“Since he had nothing to pay,
the lord gave the order to sell him
with wife and children and all he owned
in order to settle the debt.
“But the servant threw himself down before his lord and begged:
Lord, have patience with me and I will pay you everything.
“The lord took pity on that servant,
let him go and forgave him the borrowed sum.
“But when that servant came outside,
he found another servant there
who owed him a hundred tenpence;
He grabbed him by the throat and said:
Pay what you owe.
“The other servant threw himself down before the first one and begged:
Have patience with me and I will pay you.
“But the latter refused
and even had him jailed,
until he would have paid his debt.
“Now when the remaining servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply indignant
and went to tell their lord everything.
“Thereupon the lord sent for the servant and spoke:
You, ugly servant,
all that debt I have forgiven you,
because you begged me for it.
“Then should you not also have had pity
with your fellow servant,
as I have had pity on you?
“And inflamed in wrath,
his lord delivered him over to the executioners,
until he would have paid his whole debt.
“So will my heavenly Father
deal with every one of you
who does not heartily pardon his brother.”
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Laudato Si
Encyclic by
POPE FRANCIS
On caring for the common home
Global inequality
48. The human and natural environment are deteriorating together, and we will not be able to cope adequately with environmental decline if we do not pay attention to the causes related to human and societal decline. Environmental and social degradation particularly affects the planet’s weakest: “Both the common experience of ordinary life and scientific research show that the poorest people suffer the most severe effects of all environmental attacks.” For example, the depletion of fish reserves mainly punishes those who live off professional fishing and have nothing to replace it, water pollution particularly affects the poorest, who do not have the ability to buy bottled water, sea level rise mainly affects impoverished coastal populations, who have nowhere to move. The effect of the current imbalance is also evident in the premature deaths of many poor people, in the conflicts caused by the lack of resources, and so many other problems that do not find adequate space in the world’s agendas.
To be continued
The Bible text in this issue is taken from The New Translation of the Bible,
©Dutch Bible Society 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays
Laudato Si Official English translation